I’m Not Retiring

Three years, seven months and twenty-six days ago, I began a cascade of life-altering decisions.  It took many years of advances and retreats, of minor victories and major failures, of fears and tears and therapy before I developed the courage and commitment to walk out of the home I shared with my longtime husband.  From that moment on, I have chosen to build my life anew, filling it with things that bring me joy, that help me grow, that make me a better person for the people I cherish.

And now it’s time for another leap.  I’ve been fortunate to have a fulfilling and rewarding career as an attorney.  But after working in similar roles for nearly thirty years, my learning curve has flattened, as has my joy.  I hunger for new challenges, new sights, sounds and tastes.  I’m ready to grow again.  And so I have said goodbye to my employer of fourteen years and have closed the book on my legal career.  I am now a retiree.

Some call me impulsive, and I can’t argue with them.  Patience is not my virtue and once an idea strikes me, I move quickly.  But as the sole owner of this life, I’m the only one that will bear the consequences of my decisions.  While I could, theoretically, find myself bored or lonely, I’m willing to take that risk.  Somehow, as I’m sitting in a Parisian café writing my debut novel, I doubt that I will pine for my days as a Chief Compliance Officer. 

I’m not retiring.  I am aspiring.